"Food for me was a connecting link to my grandmother, to my childhood, to my past. And what I found out is that for everybody, food is a connector to their roots, to their past in different ways. It gives you security; it gives you a profile of who you are, where you come from." - Lidia Matticchio Bastianich

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

My mom's moog daal khichadi is just like her, simple but heartwarming! I blogged about Quinoa Khichadi sometime back, which was based on Mom's recipe. But still this simple moog daal khichadi definitely deserves its own place on my blog.

Mom used to make this Khichadi quite often. It was nutritious, and easy to make especially after a hectic day at work. but to be honest, I used to grimace when mom used to make this. "Why not saboodana khichadi, mom?" I used to argue. I didn't know then the goodness of daal and just the right protein/carb balance provided by this simple khichadi.

Now whenever mom comes here, I often request her to make this Khichadi. She just uses a big pressure cooker container for making this khichadi. She always soaks daal and rice for a few hours and about 1/2 hour before the meal, she puts the pressure cooker on the gas. As soon as everyone sits on the dining table to eat, mom opens the cooker and we enjoy the steaming hot khichadi. Mom serves it along with ghee(toop/clarified butter) or tempered oil or just plain yogurt. Other accompaniments like pickles, chutneys, papads also emerge from the pantry and fridge.

It's extremely cold here, and so today I prepared this heartwarming Khichadi. Easy to make, just perfect for a lazy day.

Mom's Moog Daal Khichadi

Ingredients

1 cup rice

1 cup moog daal

A pinch of asafoetida

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp goda masala

Salt to taste

3 1/2 - 4 cups water

Method

1. Check daal and rice for any impurities. Wash. Keep in a big container of the pressure cooker.

2. Add water and all the ingredients mentioned above.

3. Let the mixture soak till you are ready to eat. Soaking time can vary anywhere from 2-3 hours to 10 minutes. It's a hassle-free Khichadi. No stringent rules here.

4. Pressure cook for about 4-5 whistles.

5. Let the pressure drop of its own.

6. Open the steaming Khichadi. Serve hot.

7. Achar/Papads/Raita would be ideal accompaniments.

Serve with -

1. Ghee

2. Plain yogurt

3. Tempered oil - Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small tempering pan. Add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds. As the seeds splutter, bring the tempered oil to the table. As everyone takes their share of Khichadi on the plate, drizzle few drops of tempered oil on the Khichadi. It should make that trademark sizzling sound.

Note-

1. You can make variations of this Khichadi by adding chilakewali moog daal(green moog daal with peels) or sprouted moog beans.

2. The tempered oil can also be made in the microwave. Heat oil in a microwave safe pyrex ramekin for 30 seconds. Add mustard seeds. Heat for another 30 seconds or till the mustard seeds start spluttering. The microwave times vary so you need to check which time suits best for your microwave.

3. The proportion of rice/daal can be changed from 1:1 to 1:2 if you prefer mushier/softer version Khichadi (like a porridge) with more daal. or 2:1 if you prefer dry khichadi like pullao.

4. You can substitute Dhanajeera powder (coriander/cumin seed powder), or some khada masala (whole spices) if you don't have goda masala.

Credits

The microwave tempering idea is based on Julie Sahni's "Moghul Microwave". For more information, read here.